Villagers say airport parking is a 'menace'

Residents in a village close to Bristol Airport say littering, noise and inconsiderate parking is a "menace" to deal with.

With the cost of airport parking increasing, some holidaymakers are turning to the village of Felton for free parking.

Local frustration appears to have reached an all-time high, with some people's tyres reportedly being slashed and others taking it upon themselves to pick up litter left in lay-bys.

A spokesperson for Bristol Airport said staff were aware of the issues and were working closely with North Somerset Council to address them.

They added that a planning and parking enforcement officer was being funded and community meetings were being held for residents to discuss their concerns.

There are no double yellow lines or parking restrictions on the public roads in Felton, but residents have added signage asking people to avoid parking in certain areas.

Dave has been living in Felton for five years.

He said there had been "regular" incidents when holidaymakers would return home to find their tyres deflated or slashed because villagers were "so annoyed" at the number of parked cars.

"I've seen some nice people come back from a holiday and they've been crying, they've had a little one in a pushchair and it was freezing cold.

"We made them a coffee while they were trying to get a recovery vehicle in. All four tyres were flat," he said.

Another resident told BBC Radio Bristol they were "constantly" woken up by people parking nearby.

"They park in very unsuitable places and it's the times they come and go.

"They'll turn up at 02:30 BST because they have to be at the airport three hours before their flights.

"They slam their doors, then there is all the heckling, the chatting, the excitement."

The resident said the way holidaymakers treated villagers was "not fair".

"Something definitely needs to be done because over the last few years the problem has become much more of a menace," they added.

Villagers also reported an increase in litter in the area, which they said was mostly left behind by taxi drivers and holidaymakers.

Felton Village Litter Picking Group was set up to tackle the problem.

Arleen Sharp, from the group, said a litter picking session could bring in "10, 12, 14 bags of rubbish".

"We go out and clear up the A38 and we'll go out seven days later and the rubbish is back.

"It's probably not all from the airport, but I think most of it is generated by airport users," she added.

A spokesperson from Bristol Airport advised customers to use on-site car parks - which were equipped with CCTV and automatic number plate recognition - for "peace of mind".

"We will always look to work in partnership with our community to tackle nuisance parking and urge anyone with concerns to get in touch.

"We also encourage customers to use other ways of travelling to and from Bristol Airport.

"We provide a free one-hour car park for pickups and drop offs, with courtesy bus transfers between the terminal and car park.

"Alternatively, there are many direct bus and coach services linking the airport with Bristol, the south-west of England, and South Wales.

"Bristol Airport is constructing a new £60m public transport interchange and car park, which will be one of our region's largest coach/bus interchanges when it is completed next summer," they added.

Additional reporting by Bea Swallow.

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